It is desirable for a user of a mobile station to know the availability of other users of mobile stations before attempting to communicate with the other users. If the user knows the availability statuses of the other users, then the user may avoid wasting time and resources by foregoing attempts to communicate with the other users during times that the other users are unavailable.
Some personal computers employ a software application, for example, a real-time availability status presentation application, for example, AOL® Instant Messenger™ service offered by America Online, Inc. (New York, N.Y. 10019, http://www.aol.com), to notify a user of the personal computer of the status of other users in a network. If the user subscribes to the Instant Messenger™ service, then the user may establish a list, for example, a buddy list, of the other users who have also subscribed to the Instant Messenger™ service. The Instant Messenger™ service monitors the availability status of the other users on the user's buddy list and provides to the user real-time availability status updates about the other users. When one of the other users signs onto the Instant Messenger™ service, for example, the Instant Messenger™ service communicates an update of the status of that other user, for example, from “not logged on” to “logged on.” The update notifies the original user that the other user is available for communication.
One shortcoming of the arrangement is that the real-time availability status presentation application is not available for the user of the mobile station to monitor the status of the other users. For example, a first user must attempt communication with a second user to determine an availability of the second user. If the first user attempts communication with the second user and the second user is unavailable, then the first user has wasted time and resources by attempting communication with the second user. Without knowledge of the availability of the second user, the first user is unable to distinguish between different causes for the unavailability of the second user. For example, the second user may be currently engaged in a call, powered off, unavailable, or not accepting calls. Without being able to distinguish between the different causes of the unavailability of the second user, the first user may make subsequent calls to the second user and continue to waste time and resources.
Thus, a need exists for enhanced information about the call status availability of mobile stations.